Sister Agnes Clare Buckley

Sister Agnes's Story

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Sister Agnes Clare Buckley died on Sept. 23, 2017, at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. She was born on Feb. 9, 1937, in Malden, Mass., to James and Agnes Enos Buckley and was baptized Phyllis Marie.
Sister entered the Congregation of the Sisters of Providence on Feb. 2, 1956, and professed final vows Aug. 15, 1963. She earned a bachelor's degree from St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. Of her 61 years as a Sister of Providence, she ministered in education for 42 years in schools in Illinois, Maryland and Massachusetts.
Sister Agnes Clare was an early recipient of a heart transplant and the first woman undergoing this procedure in 1989. After her recovery, she continued to give herself energetically to ministry, teaching fifth grade for another 12 years. Even after retiring from teaching, she served as a school and parish volunteer for another seven years. Her 28 years of life after the transplant makes her the longest lived survivor of heart transplant surgery.
Sister is survived by a brother, James J. Buckley of Wilmington, Mass.; and a sister, Catherine G. Musicof, of Stoneham, Mass.
She is preceded in death by a brother, Paul Buckley.
The wake is on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, at Smith Funeral Home, in Chelsea, Mass. Mass of Christian burial is at St. Mary of the Assumption Church, in Revere, Mass. Burial is in the Holy Cross Cemetery in Malden, Mass. Memorial contributions may be made to Sisters of Providence, 1 Sisters of Providence, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind. 47876.